Eagles mindful of Port's power

Developing midfielder Liam Duggan says he is starting to find his feet in season 2016.

The second year Eagle told Perth media he would use yesterday’s 21 disposal, one mark and one tackle outing against the Saints as a launching pad for the rest of the year.

“It’s been a bit of a consistent build for me,” he said.

“I was slow to start and wasn’t in the form that I would have liked, but yesterday was something I would like to keep more consistent for the rest of the season.”

The 19-year-old said he was grateful Adam Simpson stuck with him as he felt his way through those formative rounds and now he’s looking to repay the senior coach for his faith.

“Simmo has been really good,” he said.

“He kept backing me in and hopefully I can show him what I can do now that he’s backed me in.”

Although he was pleased with his effort against St Kilda, Duggan admitted he still had a lot to work on – particularly his kicking.

Duggan’s accuracy by foot was one of his great strengths in his debut season, but his radar has been off throughout the first eight rounds of the season.

He has struggled in front of the big sticks, recording five behinds from set shots, and his field efficiency is down on his 2015 numbers.

“I suppose my kicking is something that I need to work on and I think it comes back to backing yourself in,” Duggan said.

“My goal kicking has probably swayed that percentage down a little bit. I can’t seem to get it through the big sticks. (I’m) playing a little bit of inside mid at the moment in which sometimes you just throw it on the boot a little bit. It’s obviously something I need to get back to doing, because (kicking was) my number one strength.”

Duggan said the Eagles had already moved on from yesterday’s triumph quickly and were looking forward to this Saturday’s clash with Port Adelaide.

The fledgling said West Coast would draw inspiration from its stirring 10-point win over the Power last year, a game that he reckoned solidified the group’s belief in its abilities ahead of its storied grand final charge.

“That’s probably the best win so far for my career, just purely for the fact we were away at Adelaide Oval and it’s a pretty daunting crowd there,” Duggan said.

“Port at home are a pretty strong side, so for us to get that win that went right down to the wire was really positive for us. I suppose Port haven’t been in the form they would like (this year), but we still see them as a danger side, especially at Adelaide Oval. Obviously we went into the game last year thinking the same thing, and we will prepare exactly the same.”